Where is Clarke (Eliza Taylor) going? How will Camp Jaha be different with Bellamy (Bob Morley) as its leader? Are the Grounders still in the picture? Is the Promised Land really what Murphy (Richard Harmon) and Jaha (Isaiah Washington) had in mind? What is Allie’s plan with Jaha and the nuclear missile?

Executive producer Jason Rothenberg jumped on the phone with ETonline to answer the biggest questions posed from the game-changing finale.

Clarke decides to leave the group and go out on her own. What is that going to be like for her? Was that a good decision on her part?

Jason Rothenberg: I think it makes sense for her at that point. Good decision for her longevity as a human being? Maybe not, it’s a dangerous world out there, but I think she can handle herself. Emotionally, she couldn’t be there anymore. As she says to Bellamy before she leaves, seeing their faces reminds her of what she had to do to get them home and that means every single moment of every single day, had she stayed there, she’d be reminded of the innocent lives she had to take to get it done. She really does look at herself as a monster.

The plan from the beginning for the season was to force Clarke into a position where, to get her people back, she’s forced to go so far that she’s broken. At what point do the good guys become the bad guys? Is there a point where you can do so much that you’re no longer on the moral high ground? The answer obviously is yes. For her, she did it anyway. She has blood on her hands and she can’t wash it off.

One shocker was Clarke’s decision to eradicate the Mountain People on Level 5. Was there an alternative solution where they didn’t have to kill the innocents to reach their goal?

Rothenberg: Think about what Clarke was looking at. She was looking at her mother [Abby] on the bone marrow table, probably pretty close to death and certainly being tortured. They were systematically, one at a time, going to be doing that to all of their people and she wasn’t going to let that go on another second longer – and Cage (Johnny Whitworth) wasn’t about to stop. It’s the immovable object meets the unstoppable force. Clarke had to do what she had to do. She believed in that moment. Thematically, as Jasper (Devon Bostick) is holding Maya (Eve Harlow) as she’s about to take her last breath, Jasper says “She was innocent,” and Maya’s final words are “None of us are innocent” as she dies – and that’s the truth. The original intent of Mount Weather was the fact that they were doing this horrible thing to the Grounders to stay alive and if they didn’t do that they wouldn’t exist. On some level, this is erasing that mistake. This is balancing the moral scales.

There were moments when it seemed possible we would be losing some key characters. Was that ever a serious thought – to kill or sacrifice a main player?

Rothenberg: No. I was never for a second thinking, which one [would die]? We are willing to do that when the story is right and we’ve proven that with Finn and last season with Wells. That’s the kind of world it is. It’ll certainly happen again but no. The way I thought about it was I knew what Clarke was going to do and if she did what she did [eradicate Level 5], and we still lost one of our main characters? Then I think emotionally it would have been too dark even for us.

Bellamy and Clarke’s moment at the end was certainly emotional as the two as they parted ways. What is their future look like with Clarke leaving?

Rothenberg: Season three will present us with some new dynamics for sure. I don’t want to talk too much about season three as we’re in the planning stages and breaking stories and starting to write it very shortly. But Clarke isn’t going to be home when we get there, for sure. Bellamy is a leader and is responsible and is a hero and will be recognized as such and given responsibilities that he’s never had before. He’s going to have more and more reason to stay there and stay at Camp Jaha as they’re forming this society – and Clarke can’t be there emotionally for now. We giveth and we taketh away.

Rothenberg: Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) recognizes him at the end of the episode [as one]. It’s a nice bookend to the premiere, when Kane essentially tazed him and arrested him and didn’t trust him. Now he recognizes what Bellamy’s done to keep them all alive – including him, so that will have positive ramifications for Bellamy’s future.

And there was a kiss – although on the cheek – so Bellarke fans can have that to be happy about?

Rothenberg: (Laughs.) There’s definitely a better Bellarke moment at the end of the episode than we have seen before. It’s clear that these two people care tremendously for each other. Are there romantic feelings developing? People read what they want to into these things. In the books, that’s happening so if people really want that, they should definitely read those books. I’m not at all wedded to those books. We do what we want to do. It’s a very different show. That said, the chemistry between those two characters is undeniable. They really do need each other. They’re not complete without each other.

What did Murphy stumble into? Is that the Promised Land?

Rothenberg: It’s a fallout shelter, a bomb shelter, built by the guy who developed the artificial intelligence that we meet at the end of the episode. He’s sort of the Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates character who developed a program that went sentient and that essentially ended the world. Now what that means going forward is what will surprise people. We’re supposed to connect those dots at the end.

So Jaha’s encounter with A.L.I.E. (pronounced Al-Lee) is connected to the man Murphy saw commit suicide on the video?

Rothenberg: That guy [in the video] was saying “She got the launch codes,” she being A.L.I.E. [Those codes] essentially launched the nukes in a way that we will probably reveal in season three, which is going to be surprising and cool. Ultimately, he wasn’t able to stop her and the reason he’s killing himself is he has the guilt of ending the world on his shoulders.

Allie alludes that there is a master plan and Jaha is the missing link. What can you divulge about this grand plan she’s hinting at?

Rothenberg: Jaha thinks he’s been called for a higher purpose. He’s been searching for that and believing in that almost a divine path the entire season. By the way, it’s not a City of Light – it’s a misnomer – she’s made of light. A.L.I.E, by the way, is an acronym which we’ll at some point reveal. She is light that he’s found and does he think he’s found this divine thing? She had intimate intelligence, she had access to everything in the world, she ended the world. Does Jaha look at her as being the dark figure that he needs to fight against or does he join up? We’ll have to see how that plays out in season three.

CW

Are the Grounders still a season three presence?

Rothenberg: Of course! One of the things that happens as a result of Lexa betraying the Sky People was that they were left to die but they didn’t die. Clarke of the Sky People managed to wipe out their single enemy single-handedly, or so the legend will go, and what does that mean going forward for the rest of the 12 clans in the alliance at the table still? What does that mean for Clarke and Lexa? What does that mean for peace on the ground? I think it’ll be interesting to see the legend of Clarke of the Sky People grow.

More of a statement: Loved Cage’s kill.

Rothenberg: (Laughs.) Satisfying. I definitely knew that it was going to be Lincoln who was going to get it. He definitely earned it and the audience will feel relief from that.

What was the biggest finale shocker? Can you believe Clarke’s decision? Can you believe we have to wait more than six months for the return of The 100?! Tell us what you thought of the season finale by tweeting Philiana Ng at @insidethetube!